How Napa's Wine Industry is Managing Climate Change

BY FRAN MILLER

Photo by Bob McClenahan

Characterized by cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers, Napa Valley’s Mediterranean climate is the perfect environment to grow worldclass grape varieties. Yet, along with nearly all other wine regions globally, Napa is experiencing the effects of more extreme weather events, including cycles of drought and an increasing frequency of significant wildfire events. As a result, climate change is no longer merely a future threat; it is real and very present, and it’s changing the way that Napa’s vintners and grape growers manage their businesses.

At their essence, vintners and grape growers are farmers, adept at adapting to Mother Nature’s whims and renowned for employing the most up-to-date technology for growing premium grapes and producing consistent quality wines. Nevertheless, a top priority has become slowing the rate of climate change and mitigating the effects of drought, heat, and wildfire. Napa wineries have made it through low water years many times in the past, and most have become adept at smart water management; local leaders have come together to work with regional governments to promote fire safety.

Photo by Sarah Anne Risk

“Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG) has always embraced sustainability as a vital part of preservation and agricultural permanence,” said Molly Moran Williams, the organization’s industry and community relations director. “Our work to preserve agriculture is part of our climate resilience work, so we're naturally excited to look ahead at opportunities to become more climate-smart. We currently provide educational programs in both Spanish and English on climate science and best farming practices. We are also conducting a comprehensive vineyard trial in partnership with UC Davis, Oakville Station, and Cal Poly SLO, focused on soil health and climate mitigation. This work to translate science into practice in the field is essential. “Napa County is small,” added Williams. “So, we won’t solve climate change alone, but 11% of the world is covered in farmland, with 18M acres of vineyards worldwide. If we can invest in local solutions and engage and share with the global grape growing and farming community, that’s our chance to really make a difference.”

Two of the most significant issues facing wineries right now are drought and wildfires.

Photo courtesy of Napa Valley Grapegrowers

DROUGHT

Unlike other crops, grapevines can survive and even thrive with little water. Table grapes, for instance, are grown more for size than flavor and require more water than wine grapes that are grown for smaller yields and more concentrated flavors - qualities that require less water. So it makes sense that many vineyards in the Napa Valley can be farmed using relatively little to no irrigated water by practicing deficit irrigation or even dry-farming. In addition to irrigation management, tactics can be employed in the vineyard to reduce the need for added water through proper canopy and soil management. Vine vigor can be controlled, and water holding capacity of soils can be increased through best farming practices.

Rather than relying on groundwater, some grape growers in Napa use recycled water (either reclaimed during the winemaking process or rigorously treated to qualify for use) to help irrigate vineyards, a common and accepted practice throughout the world and an environmentally responsible way to conserve scarce and expensive water supplies. And most growers and vintners now use water monitoring resources that help determine where water is needed at the vineyard block and sometimes even the vine level.

Jackson Family Wines, for instance, as part of their ‘Rooted for Good: Road Map to 2030’ long-term sustainability vision, is investing in new technologies to ensure precision deficit irrigation. Proprietors of six Napa Valley wineries, the family-owned company is exploring innovative water evaporation reduction techniques in their reservoirs and continuing to collaborate on groundwater recharge and watershed restoration projects that protect and enhance local ecosystems and fish habitats.

“My family has always been deeply committed to land stewardship, caring for the environment and our communities, and ensuring our family wine company endures for generations to come,” said Jackson Family Wines' second-generation proprietor Katie Jackson, senior vice president of corporate responsibility. “Our Rooted for Good plan provides a roadmap to do our part to take action against climate change, improve our environmental footprint and make a positive difference in our communities.”

WILDFIRES

Preventing large wildfire events is one of the most pressing issues for the entire Napa Valley community and is top of mind for both growers and vintners alike. Following 2020's devastating fire season, Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) and more than 50 vintner leaders established a Fire Prevention and Mitigation Committee to focus their wildfire prevention efforts. NVG’s Wildfire Task Force was also formed to address issues surrounding land management strategies for fire prevention and farmworker safety. The two organizations have collaborated with other industry partners, local government, and the local Fire-Wise organizations to further empower growers and vintners to protect their properties, enhance the local firefighting effort, and reduce fuel loads. NVV and NVG intensively and successfully lobbied to adopt Napa County's first-ever Community Wildfire Protection Plan and total funding of the projects identified in the plan's first year ($6.4 million). To ensure maximized local firefighting effectiveness, NVV and NVG joined other local industry groups to request that the Napa County Board of Supervisors closely study other counties' firefighting models before automatically renewing its agreement CalFire when the current contract expires in two years.

“Between dealing with floods, earthquakes, and now wildfires, our community has become very adept at dealing with natural disasters,” said Rex Stults, vice president of industry relations for NVV. “Napa always rallies and rises to the occasion to do what is necessary to move forward. It’s happening again right now, with the industry, local government, and community at large working together to ensure we are better prepared than we were last year or even last month.”

Growers and vintners are actively working to prepare their properties to defend against the threat of fire by increasing defensible space areas, reducing potential fuel loads around building structures, installing water and gel spray defense systems, altering building materials to prevent embers from igniting into larger fires, increasing their on-site water storage for firefighting, training staff in preparedness measures, performing permitted controlled burns, installing fuel break lines, and acquiring more defensive fire equipment.

NAPA GREEN

Napa growers and vintners are fortunate to be able to look to the leadership of The Napa Green Program for leadership in combatting climate change. Developed in the early 2000s with environmental, regulatory, and industry stakeholders, Napa Green is a comprehensive sustainability certification whereby vineyards and wineries limit their carbon footprints by implementing land management and operational changes. More than 90 wineries are certified in the Napa Green Winery program. In addition, a new Napa Green Vineyard program is specifically focused on Climate Action, helping growers reduce their carbon footprint and store more carbon in their soils.

Napa growers and vintners are fortunate to be able to look to the leadership of The Napa Green Program for leadership in combatting climate change.

“As a 2017 Napa wildfire and 2020 Glass fire victim, I realized first-hand the issues caused by climate change and its destructive power,” said Igor Sill, proprietor of Atlas Peak’s Sill Family Vineyards, a Napa Green, Fish Friendly Farming and Wildlife Federation certified winery. “So I started to figure out how to combat and affect our carbon footprint while sequestering carbon. With the assistance of the CA Land Stewardship Institute, we initiated a comprehensive carbon audit throughout our vineyards and buildings, intending to become carbon neutral and potentially carbon negative. We enrolled in the Climate Adaptation Certification Program, which is taking us to a higher level of direct action on climate change and reducing carbon emissions. And we continue to utilize other methods of conserving carbon and minimizing emissions like composting from local sources (Upper Valley Recycling) and cutting down on electricity. I believe that by making these changes, we can make a difference.”

Vinwood Solar

SO WHAT DOES NAPA VALLEY’S FUTURE LOOK LIKE?

“At the end of the day, vintners and grape growers are farmers who must successfully adapt, harvest to harvest, season to season, year to year, and they have done so for nearly two centuries in the Napa Valley, and for many thousands of years worldwide,” said Stults. “Napa Valley is a strong, agricultural community and the region’s agricultural traditions will carry on. No matter what that future holds, Napa Valley's vintners and growers will surely continue to adapt and change their practices to continue making some of the world’s highest quality wines.”